In honor of Black History Month, we’re teaming up with the social news site NewsTrust to find and promote journalism about the Black experience in America today. How has the election of Barack Obama changed the conversation, and the realities, for African Americans and other people of color?

Join us in reviewing news and opinion pieces that explore issues of social justice and empowerment and highlights the contributions of African Americans to the country’s cultural landscape.

Of course you don’t speak Kashaya. That’s because the dying language found on the California coast near the mouth of the Russian River is one of nearly 2,500 worldwide languages that UNESCO has classified as endangered or extinct (out of more than 6,000 total world languages).